Heating system for motor vehicles



April 4, 1933. J. GOULD v 1,903,349

HEATING SYSTEM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES I I Filed Oct. 3, 1927 Sheets-Sheet 1 jizpen or' Aprll 4, 1933. J. H. GOULD HEATING SYSTEM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Oct. 3, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 p/l/Y//////V///////////////I////////////////// J5??? a yg m Patented Apr. 4, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN H. GOULD, O! DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB TO KCCOBD RADIATOR & MPG. 00.. O! DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A. CORPORATION OF MAINE HEATING SYSTEM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Application filed October 3, 192'!- Serialla. 228,541.

This invention relates to motor vehicle heating systems, and more particularly to the systems in which steam is employed to furnish the heat requiredto heat the interior of the 6 car.

One of the'ob'ects of my invention is to provide means w ereby the steam willcirculate through the heater or radiator of the system, and thus avoid vents in the radiator through which the steam may leak or escape into the body of the car.

Another ob'ect of my invention is to PI'Q. vide means w ereby the steam may circulate through the steam generator and thus produce as steam with a minimum amount of liquid content for the system.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby a liquid seal is termed in'the system after the air has been driven as out by pressure created. by the generated steam, and thus seal the system to the atmosphere and prevent the loss of steam.

A. further object of my invention is to provide means whereby the head of the liquid as forming the seal will set up pressure resistance to prevent the escape of vapors from the system through the seal.

A further object of my invention is to pro vide a condenser in association with said to liquid seal so as to lower the temperature of the seal and condense any steam coming into contact with the same, and thus iurther prevent the escape of steam from the system.

A further object of my invention is to pro- 85 vide a condenser in connection with the return line from the heater or radiator so 'asto assist the circulation of steam through the system by lowering the temperature in thereturn line.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby a liquid seal will be maintained between the return line and the intake of the steam generator, so as to maintain this diilerence of pressure in the flow and return lines.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings- Figs. 1 and" 1 are more or less diagram- .matic views of a steam radiator and generator assembly constructed in accordance with my invention and shown installed on a motor vehicle liig. 2 is an enlarged vertical, longitudinal sectional view through the condenser and liquid supply assembly to be hereinafter more fully described;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the portion of said assembly at the; valve and show ing the valve in its position when connecting the water trap with the cooling system of the engine;

Fig. 4- is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

In Fig. 1, 1 indicates conventionally an internal combustion engine of the type usually employed on motor vehicles and having a radiator 2 in front of the same as a part of the cooling system of the engine, said radiator having its upper and lower portions connected with the water jacket 3 of the engine by conduits i and 4, respectively, as customary in assemblies of this general kind. The en la gins has an exhaust manifold 5 to which is connected the exhaust pipe 6, the intififEX tending back under the floor 7 of the car and terminating in a notifier 8 adjacent the rear end thereof, as customary in motor vehicle design. I

Associated with the exhaust pipe 6 is a steam generator 9 of the form and construction as shown and describedin my copending application, Serial No. 158,114, filed De cember 80, 1926, now Patent No. 1,7? 5,638, granted September 16, 1930. This generator, as illustrated in Figs. and 5, contains" a steam forming chamber 10 to be heated by the exhaust gases of the engine passing through and over the same, as in my said patent.

To supply water to the generator 9 so that steam may be produced in the chamber 10, I provide the following construction. Arrranged outside of the motor 1 is an upright tube ll having its opposite ends connected by conduits 12, 13 with the cooling system of the engine at different levels, so that there we siphon action.

may be a constant circulation or flow of cooling water through the tube/11.

In the particular installation shown in Fig.

1, conduit 12 connects the upper end of the tube 11 with the top portion of the Water jacket 3, while the conduit 13 connects the lower end of the tube with the outlet at the lower end of the radiator 2. In this installation, the circulation of the cooling water through the cooling system is by thermo- The installation, however,

. could be employed in connection with a mechanical circulation, as when a pump is used, by connecting with conduit 13 with the discharge side of the pump.

Arranged about the tube 11 is a larger pipe 14 which has its upper end connected with a water trap 15 through the provision of a valve fitting 16, to be presently described. A conduit 17 opens into the lower end of the 'pipe 14 and serves to convey liquids to the generator 9 in a manner to be hereinafter dcscribed.

The trap 15 forms in effect an upward extension of the pipe 14, and is so located that the top portion of the trap extends above the maximum water level a in the cooling system of the engine. This trap has an atmospheric vent" opening .18 in its top wall, as

clearly shown in Fig. 2. The valve fitting 16 is provided with a valve in the form of a turning plug 19 having a T shaped passageway 20 adapted, when the valve is turned to to the generator 9. This is the normal position of valve 19- during the operation of the heating system. When the valve 19'is in the position cutting OK the trap 15 from the heating system, the latter is vented to the atmosphere through .a vent port 22 in the valve fitting and a registering passage 23 in the valve plug 19, as shown in Fig. 3. Thus the heating system may berelieved of excess pressures should it be operated with the valve in this closed position. An operating rod 24 accessible from the inside of the car is connected with the plug 19 for turning it.

A steam radiator 25 is set in or on the floor 7 of the car in any desirable location, as between the-front and rear seats or in front of the front seat. Pipes or conduits 26. 27 connect the chamber 10 of the generator 9 to the radiator 25, As shown in Fig. 5, the chamber 10 of the generator extends lengthwise of the latter and is located at an inclination therein. The conduit 26 connects the uppermost end of the chamber 10 With the steam aecasee radiator 25 to supply steam thereto from the chamber 10. The conduit 27 is the return line from the radiator 25 and is provided on its outer side with a multiplicity of heat radiating fins 28, the purpose of which will presently appear.

Conduits 17 and 27 are connected by a coupling 29, which also connects both of these conduits to the upper end of a trap 30, the lower end of the latter being connected with the inlet at the lowermost end of the steam chamber 10. This connection is provided with a spring pressed relief valve 31, by means of which the system may vent itself to the atmosphere in case of any undue pressure produced therein or in the event that the vent port 18 should become clogged or unduly restricted.

The system shown and described operates as follows: After being first installed, the valve 19 is turned to position'shown in Fig. 3 so that a supply of liquids will be furnished to the trap 15 from the cooling system of the engine. When the trap fills, the valve 19 is turned into the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby cutting off the trap from the cooling system and allowing the liquid collected in the trap to flow into the chamber 10 through conduits 14, 17, and trap 30. The trap 15 is of relatively small size, so that only a limited amount of liquids may be supplied to the generator at any given time. As the chamber 10 becomes heated by the exhaust gases, steam starts to form in the generator and flows towards the radiator 25 through conduit 26, driving ahead of it the air in the system and forcing such air out of the vent port 18 at the trap 15. As the generation of steam continues a suflicient pressure is created in the system to force the major portion of the liquid content in the system back into the pipe 14 and trap 15, thereby providing a liquid seal between the system and the vent port 18 and preventing the escape .of steam. A difference of pressure is created in the flow and return lines 26, 27 through the chilling action of the fins 28 on the return line 27. This reduces the pressure in the conduit 27 and permits the steam to flow in the proper direction, namely, into the radiator 25. The condensed steam is admitted to the trap 30 and augments the liquid'supply for I the generator and the liquid seal which is maintained by the trap at the intake of the generator. The pressure generated in the system is suflicient tohold the liquid seal in the pipe 14 and trap 15 and prevents a free flow .of liquid from the seal into the generator except what may be necessary to supply the generator with sufiicient liquids, determined by the head of the liquids formmg the water seal in pipe 14 and trap 15.

Located in pipe 14 about the tube 11 are a multiplicity of heat radiating fins 32, which are preferably provided on the outer side a of "the tube and may of spiral or other li uids of the of the seal. Consequently, an steam'coming in contact with the liquid sea in the pipe 14 will be condensed and be returned to the chamber 10, through the trap 30, so that there is always a sufficient amount of water supplied to the generator to keep the system led with steam and automatically maintain a balance of pressure. This will take care of the chan in volume 'due to the different degreesof eat under difierent operating conditions, and thus control the amount of water r uired to keep the system filled with steam.

e heating system of m invention is simple in construction and e cient in o ration and maflbe applied to cars alrea y built, or may installed at the time of building the cars as part of their standard equipment. The details of structure and arrangement of parts shown and described may be-variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention The combination with a motor vehicle of the type having a body, a li uid cooled internal combustion'engine, an a liquid cooling stem and exhaust pipe for the engine,

of a eating system for the vehicle com rising a steam radiator mounted on the ody and disposed to heat the interior thereof, a

nerator carried by the vehicle below steam the r iator and connected with the exhaust pipe to be heated'by the exhaust gases of the inlet of the generator, and a tra in the con nection between the return con uit and the nerator to provide a liquid seal at the invm et to the enerator to cause thesteam produced in t e generator to flow in a direction 

